Glory Fades
by kaylx
Summary: What if Ryan never ran away from the Cohen’s in ‘The Model’ Episode? This is my little spin on what happens to Ryan when he has to go live in a group home. (There will be three parts to this story.)
1. Understanding the Dream is Over

Okay, so here goes another fan fic for 'the OC'…Read and Review so I know if I should continue or not. I'm not sure if this has been done before…But here it goes…

Summary: What if Ryan never ran away from the Cohen's in 'The Model' Episode. This is my little spin on what happens to Ryan when he has to go live in a group home. (There will be three parts to this story.)

+NOTE: I do not own any of these characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com+

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Chapter One: Understanding the Dream is over

"I wish there was more we could do." Sandy told Kirsten, staring out into the back yard. Seth and Ryan were in the swimming pool having a good time. He's never seen Seth happier. It was Ryan's last dinner with the Cohen's, and Sandy wished he could do something more to help him out. But he had done all that he could and he couldn't find his mother.

"Honey, you're his lawyer, not his guardian." She replied, taking the dishes from him and setting them down at the table.

"I know. I know, I know. I'll take him to Child Services in the morning." Sandy said, still looking out of the window. 

Kirsten stood next to him at the window and looked out. "What kind of mother just abandons her child?" She said, her arms folded and worried. "What happens if they don't find her?" She asked.

Sandy looked away from the window and turned to her. "He'll go into the system – foster care until he's eighteen. I mean, they'll try and place him, but…at his age, it'll be impossible." Sandy told her, leaving her alone in the kitchen. She stood there and starred at the two boys in the pool for a few minutes, then returned to preparing dinner.

Sandy called the boys in and, minutes later, Seth and Ryan walked into the house, freshly clothed with wet hair. 

Ryan bumped into Kirsten on his way to the dinning room table. "Oh. How was your swim?" Kirsten asked, smiling at him. She went over to the fridge to pour herself a glass of water from the pitcher.

"It was great." Ryan replied. He looked over at the table next to him that held a model home. "What's that?" He asked.

"It's a model home. I…I build them – well, the real ones, not that one." Kirsten said, pointing at the model home.

"Can you build me one?" Ryan asked, and then realized how stupid he had just sounded. He was sure Kirsten didn't like him. She was the one who had sent him back home after Ryan had gotten Seth into a fight. "Sorry, bad joke." He added, sitting down at the table.

"So…Last supper, huh?" Sandy commented. Kirsten glared at him. "Sorry, bad joke."

"It's just a laugh riot around here." She replied, dryly.

And with that, they ate their dinner with laughter, discussing Kirsten's cooking techniques. For the first time in months, years, Ryan felt good. But he knew it wasn't going to last for long. He understood that this dream, living in Newport, was over. He was thankful that the Cohen's let him in for the weekend.

After dinner, Ryan and the Cohen's were all in the kitchen. Sandy was going over papers with Ryan, and Kirsten and Seth were cleaning up the supper dishes.

Sandy flipped through the papers, explaining everything to Ryan. "As your attorney, I'll co-sign these forms. They basically say that you don't have a legal parent or a guardian available."

Ryan looked over through the papers. "So, I'm now property of the government. Nickname: 0382965."

Seth couldn't believe his parents were just going to give up on Ryan. He actually liked Ryan. He wasn't like any of the Newport snobs that lived there. He felt like he had a bond with Ryan already and it had only been a weekend. He didn't want to lose a friend – his one and only friend. "Hey, it's better than death – breath, Seth. Or so I would imagine." Seth mumbled to his parents, as he threw the dishes in the sink.

Sandy ignore him and continued explaining, "So, we'll meet with your social worker in the morning, and she'll be the one to, uh…to take you to the group home. My contact at Child Services got you a room with only two other kids, which is good, because it can get crowded."

Ryan smiled up at Sandy. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Sandy continued, "And, you know, they do find foster homes for kids your age."

Seth couldn't help but say something to his parents. They were acting as if Ryan was just a lost letter put in the wrong mailbox. "Yeah, because everybody wants a brand-new teenager. I'm sorry if I'm the only one here that'll state the obvious…"

"Seth." Kirsten scolded him, but Seth ignored her.

Seth continued, "We have all this extra room, right? We have a poolhouse. Yet, you guys are going to ship him off to a group home? Am I the only one who gets how much that sucks?" He asked.

Before Kirsten or Sandy could reply, Ryan said, "It's okay. Really." He then signed his name at the bottom of the paper and looked over at Kirsten's model home. "Good luck with it. It looks perfect. Good night." Ryan said, dropping the pen down and leaving the Cohen's kitchen

"Good night." Sandy replied.

Ryan retreated back to the poolhouse and tried to fall asleep. After a half-hour of no sleep he decided to get dressed and go out for a smoke to calm his nerves down. He was starting to get very nervous. He didn't know what it was going to be like in the group home. Would it be like living with his mom, or would it be like living with a wealthy family, like the Cohen's.

As Ryan left the poolhouse, Seth came walking out of the house. "Hey. Got a little, uh…Playstation. Perhaps – uh, where are you going?"

Ryan waved his cigarette pack at Seth. "I need a smoke. Are your parents sleeping?" He asked, lighting up a cigarette. 

"Yeah…So, uh – group home, huh?" Seth asked. Ryan nodded his head, inhaling his cigarette. "I'm going to miss you, you know." Seth admitted. He wasn't used to any sorts of friendships, so he didn't know how he was supposed to act.

"Yeah, I – uh, it's been great…" Ryan replied.

"We're still going to hang out, right? No matter what happens?" Seth asked. 

"Yeah, of course." Ryan replied, finishing his cigarette and throwing his butt to the side of the pool. 

"Okay, well, uh – Do you want to play some playsation before you go to bed?" Seth asked. Seth wasn't really up for playsation right now, though. He was too tired, but he wanted to hang out with Ryan as much as he could before he had to leave in the morning.

"No, I'm just going to crash for the day. But, thanks." Ryan replied, and then went back inside the poolhouse.

Seth kicked the grass at his feet and watched Ryan walk off. He was pissed off at his parents for not doing anything else to help Ryan. They had a lot of room at their house, so why couldn't he just stay, Seth thought to himself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Dude, Ryan…wake up." Seth shouted at him, sitting on the couch in the poolhouse. It was seven o'clock in the morning and Seth couldn't wait to spend the last hour with his friend. He knew Ryan's Social Worker was coming at eight in the morning. Which meant that he only had an hour of Seth/Ryan time to put into the books.

Ryan shifted in the bed and opened his eyes, glaring at Seth. "What time is it?"

"Dude, it's seven. We only have an hour to hijack a few cars and steal some cash." Seth exclaimed. "Come on, dude!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Seth?" Ryan questioned.

"Grand Theft Auto, Ryan. You know where you steal cars and don't get caught…Well technically that's not true. You do get caught, you just don't get – what am I talking about! Let's just go play some playsation." Seth exclaimed to Ryan and then walked out of the pool house.

Ryan quickly got changed into his clothes and then grabbed his one and only bag that contained his possessions. He looked around the poolhouse, wishing this dream wasn't ending, but it was. He left the poolhouse and went into the Cohen's house to play some playsation with Seth.

Seth and Ryan played playsation for the whole hour. They chitchatted about nothing in particular, but Seth did bring up Marissa. Ryan liked her; he liked her a lot, but she was Luke's girlfriend. Luke, Ryan thought to himself. If it weren't for Luke, Kirsten wouldn't be mad at him right now. He wondered if Marissa wouldn't notice he was gone. But, she probably wouldn't hang out with him anyway, Ryan thought to himself. He was from Chino. And according to some, Chino meant you were 'Ew'.

Sandy, Kirsten and a woman, who Ryan didn't recognize, came walking into the den. "Ryan, this is Lillian Bates, she's from Social Services." Sandy introduced her. Ryan quickly rose to his feet and shook her hand. "Uh, she'll be the one taking you to the group home." Sandy added.

"Can't we drive him, Dad?" Seth asked, setting his controller down on the ground.

"Seth." Kirsten warned. "Lillian is going to take him. And that's finale." She added, leaving the den with Sandy and Lillian. Ryan followed them outside and Seth trailed behind him mumbling to himself how the world wasn't fair to him.

Ryan swung his backpack over his shoulder and turned and faced the Cohen's. "Thanks, for everything. It's been great."

Sandy put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "I want you to know that we are still going to keep in contact with you, Ryan. And I know Seth is going to want to visit you…"

"Damn straight." Seth shouted out. "You're like the only friend I've got…" Seth said, embracing his friend into a hug. 

Ryan accepted the hug and patted him on the back. He then let go of Seth and shook Sandy's hand. He looked over at Kirsten and nodded. "Thanks, for everything." He said, with his hand out. 

Kirsten shook his hand. "Would you do me a favor?" She asked. Ryan nodded his head. "Would you call us when you get settled in, so I know everything is right. Plus, I'm sure Seth is going to bug the hell out of us…"

"Yeah, sure." Ryan said, backing away from them and waiving to them.

"Okay, kid." Lillian said, climbing into her car. 

They drove off down the Cohen's lane way and disappeared down the street. Seth shoved his hands in his pocket and kicked at the cement.

"You okay, Seth?" Sandy asked, putting his arm around his shoulder.

"No. You're dumping him like garbage…" Seth mumbled and then walked away from his dad and headed upstairs to his room. He fumbled through his CD collection, trying to get himself back into loner mood, but it was no use. After only three days of having Ryan around and only one minute of him not being around, he missed him. Seth grabbed his skateboard and went for a skate. A good skate always cleared his mind.

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"Okay, we're here." Lillian informed Ryan, breaking the silence that had crept upon them the whole car ride.

"We are? We're still in Newport." Ryan observed. He thought that the group home was in Chino.

"You're group home is here, in Newport. You'll be going to the public school here, which is actually just a few blocks away." She grinned at him and then got out of the car. Ryan grabbed his backpack and followed her to the door. It was a pretty big house, but not as big as the Cohen's mansion, that was for sure. The door flew opened and an old woman appeared wearing an apron. She welcomed them inside the house. The house smelt like something good was cooking.

"Wilma, this is the famous, Ryan Atwood." Lillian said, introducing him. "Ryan, this is Wilma Miller. She's the heart and soul of this group home, along with her husband Tom, of course." Lillian added.

Ryan held out his hand, "Hi." Ryan said, shaking Wilma's hand.

"So, Willie, where is Tom?" Lillian asked. They were still standing in the small foyer. Ryan paid no attention to the conversation between the women and looked around the place. It was very 'homey', Ryan thought to himself.

"Oh, he's around…" She said laughing. "I think he's with Josh and Cole somewhere." She replied, looking at Ryan. "Please, come in." She motioned them over to the couch.

"Oh, I should go, Willie. I have a ten o'clock appointment." Lillian told her. She then turned to Ryan. "You okay, kid?" She asked. Ryan nodded his head. "Okay, if you need anything, call me. Willie has my number. I'll be by again to check up on you next week to see how things are going." She explained, and then left.

Wilma clapped her hands together and Ryan jumped in surprise. "Okay!" She shouted out. "Let me take you on the grand tour and meet everyone."

Ryan followed the older lady around the house, while she explained the chores. Which Ryan knew was going to be easy, since he did everything back home in Chino. Wilma showed him the upstairs of the house. The house had four bedrooms, which meant Ryan had his own room.

Wilma walked all the way to the end of the hallway and opened the door. "This is your slumber." She said. "I bought a few things for you. Lillian told me you didn't have any clothes and whatnot, so I went ahead and splurged a bit."

Ryan set his backpack down on 'his' bed. "Thanks." He said, nodding his head and looking at the clothes on the desk at the corner of the room.

Wilma clapped her hands again, and Ryan jumped, again. "Okay, now it's time meet Tom and the boys." She walked down the hallway and went back downstairs. Ryan followed her into the basement. There, he saw an older man and two teenagers sprawled out on couches watching television. "Uh hum!" Wilma shouted over the television. Tom turned off the television and stood up. Ryan stood there in awe. The guy was at least six foot five, two hundred pounds and to top it off he had a gray Afro style hairdo going on. A funny site, indeed. "Everyone, this is Ryan."

Tom shook hands with Ryan. "I hope you like spaghetti." Tom said, laughing. "This lady of mine cooks up a storm when it comes to her fantastic spaghetti. It takes her all day to make her famous sauce." Ryan nodded his head and looked over at the two boys, who were still sprawled out on the crouches. "Boys." Tom said, raising his voice. The two boys stood up. "Okay, well come on Willie. We'll let them all get acquainted with each other." And with that Tom and Wilma left the basement.

As soon as the two adults left the basement one of the boys turned the television back on. Ryan went and sat down where Tom was just sitting. He nodded at the two boys and forced a smile. 

"So, uh – I'm Cole, and I'm fourteen." The boy with the black hair said, gesturing Ryan with a nod. "That's Josh, he's seventeen…" Cole said, pointing over to the other boy who was channel surfing. Ryan looked at him and nodded. He almost looked like Seth, only that his hair wasn't as out of control. But the good thing was that he didn't look like a talker. "So, are you from Newport? How old are you?" Cole asked.

"Chino, almost seventeen." Ryan mumbled, playing with the cuff on his wrist. He was still wearing his jacket and could still smell the odor of his house back in Chino. 

"Really? Me too!" Cole bellowed out.

Josh stood up and threw the remote at Cole. "Later, girls." He said, leaving.

"Don't mind him…He's an asshole. You'll get used to him." Cole warned him. "So, how did you end up in this joint?" He asked. Ryan shrugged, but didn't say anything. There was no way he was going to start telling his life long soap opera to some kid. Ryan stood up from the couch and left. He made it pass Wilma and Tom and headed to his room. 

Ryan sat at the edge of his new room and looked around. It was a lot smaller than the poolhouse he had been staying in at the Cohen's house. It only contained a bed, desk and a dresser, which was shoved inside the closet because there was no room for it in the room. He started unpacking his clothes from his backpack and placed them inside the drawers. When he was done packing, he came across an envelope. Ryan fumbled with it and tore it opened. It was a letter.

_Hey Ryan, _

Dude, I like miss the oh so – silent 'Ryan' right now. You don't know how crazy I am going right now… You're actually in the poolhouse right now sleeping. But I know I'm going to miss you. I don't want to sound gay or anything, but it's true, Ryan. When you read this call me, 'cause I'm probably going crazy. I'm sorry my parents couldn't do anything better. Anyway, get your ass to the phone and dial my number.

-Seth (555-1286)

Ryan put the letter back into the envelope and placed it inside one of the drawers in his new desk. He smiled to himself at the thought of Seth going crazy without him. He knew he should call Seth, but he really didn't feel like it right now. He felt like crashing down and sleeping the whole day. He took off his jacket, threw it on a chair, and then pulled back the blankets in the bed. He wondered how clean the bed was. It didn't look dirty, so Ryan turned off the lights and shut the blinds, and then he jumped into bed. He knew he wasn't going to sleep, but he still tried anyway. His thoughts wandered over to Trey and then his mother. He wondered what she was doing right now. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Before Ryan could say anything, the door was opened. It was Tom.

"What are you doing sleeping?" Tom asked, walking into the room and opening the blinds. 

The sun blinded Ryan for a minute and Ryan covered his face. "Well, what else is there to do?" Ryan asked bluntly.

Tom sat down on the end of the bed. "This is your house now. Do whatever you did at your old house." Tom explained. Ryan only shrugged and then sat up in his bed. "So, I came to talk to you about the house rules." Ryan nodded and Tom continued. "First of all, I know a bit about your background. So that helps us out a lot. I want no fighting, no drinking, no drugs and no skipping any school. School starts up in a week. Did Wilma explain the chores?" Tom asked,

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well then…I want you to always call us if you are going to be out somewhere. I want you in bed by eleven. Home by eight, unless you call, of course. I know you are still on probation, so you better watch yourself. Okay?" Ryan nodded. "Okay, well get downstairs, Josh and Cole are heading over to the school to shoot some hoops and I think you should go with them. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Ryan replied and then Tom stood up. Ryan got out of bed and grabbed his jacket. He knew he didn't need the jacket, but he felt secure with it on.

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Seth skated over to the Pier and decided to eat breakfast at the diner. As he was finishing his last pancake Luke and a bunch of his 'water polo playing' friends came into the dinner. Luke and his friends noticed Seth and walked over to him.

"Where's your girlfriend, Cohen?" Luke asked, sliding into the booth with him.

"Like you care?" Seth asked, pulling out his wallet. He put down his money and tried to get out of the booth. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Luke exclaimed. "I asked you a question."

"He's gone, okay!" Seth shouted out to Luke and the others. Luke then let him get out of the booth and started to laugh at him.

Seth grabbed his skateboard and took off out of the diner and skated back home. He was caught up in all his thoughts and didn't even see large dip in the ground. He went flying off his skateboard and landed hard, face first into the cement. "Ow…" Seth moaned, and then picked his face up from the ground. He sat up and looked around, making sure no one saw his wipeout. Seth brushed his face with his sleeve and checked for blood. There was blood, a lot of it. He stood up and got back onto his skateboard and continued skating home.

When Seth got home he made sure to keep out of his parents way. There was no way he could explain his face. It looked as though he had been in a nasty fight, like the one at Holly's beach party with Ryan, but a lot worse.

"Seth…" Sandy yelled through the door of his room. "I'm going down to the mall to pick up a few things did you want to come?"

"Yeah, okay…. Or not. Just go away, Dad." Seth yelled out to his dad. He was standing in front of his mirror cleaning off the crusted blood from his face.

"Seth, are you going to stay mad at me forever?" He asked. Seth didn't respond. "I'm sure he's doing fine, Seth." Sandy waited again for Seth to respond, but he didn't. "There's still a chance his mother could come back, you know." Sandy added. He knew it was a fat chance, but he still said it anyway.

"Yeah, right and the tooth fairy is real." Seth spat out.

"Hey! You still have to have your wisdom teeth taken out! You better still believe in the tooth fairy, or else you're getting nada. Compredez?" Sandy shouted at Seth through his door.

"Whatever Dad, just leave me alone." Seth shouted.

Sandy stood there for a few minutes with his ear pressed against Seth's door. He was trying to figure out what Seth was up to. He didn't hear anything, so he left the hallway and retreated back downstairs.

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"So, do you play ball?" Cole asked, jumping around Ryan on the court. Josh had the basketball in his hands and was shooting at the net. He was a pretty good basketball player from what Ryan could tell.

_This kid is a total spazz,_ Ryan thought to himself. He thought maybe this kid should be on some Prozac or at least on something. "Yeah, I play a little." Ryan replied. Josh threw him the ball roughly and Ryan caught it, glaring at him. "Thanks." Ryan mumbled, as he took a shot. He missed and Josh caught the ball.

"Hey Cole, why don't you sit out for this game…Ryan and I are going to play a little one on one." Josh said, pushing Cole off the court. "You game?" Josh asked Ryan. Ryan nodded his head and Josh threw him the ball. "First one to get ten basket's win."

"You're on." Ryan said, pivoting around him and scoring a basket. "One." He then chucked the ball over to Josh. 

Josh smiled at him and started to pivot around Ryan, keeping one arm out to steady his balance. Ryan snatched the ball away from him and went in for another hoop. Ryan smiled back at him and chucked the ball at him. Josh started to run full speed at Ryan, dribbling the ball, running right into him. Ryan fell to the ground and Josh scored a basket. "One." Josh said as he smirked at Ryan, who was still on the ground.

Ryan got up and grabbed the ball from Josh then started dribbling around the court. Cole started to laugh at the two of them from the side of the court and Ryan glared at him. Ryan brushed pass Josh and scored another basket. The game was now three to two, for Ryan. Josh had the ball going in for his third basket when Ryan snatched it from him and scored. "Four – two." Ryan mumbled, throwing the ball at Josh. Sweat was dripping from his forehead.

Josh charged Ryan with the ball again and Ryan went flying down hard to the ground, as Josh scored another basket. "Four – three." Josh said, throwing the ball at Ryan, who was still on the ground.

Ryan got up and roughly threw the ball back at Josh. "Shove me again and I'll shove your face in." He yelled out to him, wiping the sweat from his face.

"What's the matter? Poor Ryan got hurt?" Josh laughed at him. "You going to cry now?" He threw the ball back at him.

Ryan dropped the ball and charged Josh, hitting him square in the face. Josh grabbed a hold of Ryan's shirt and pounded him in the face. Cole then came running up to them and tried to split them apart. "Shit, you guys! Don't do this!" Cole cried out at the two of them. 

Ryan kept on hitting Josh punch after punch. He wasn't sure where all this anger was coming from but it was going full force. Josh managed to get a punched in and hit Ryan hard in the stomach. Ryan went down and Josh kicked him and then spat on him. "Come on Cole, let's go." Josh said, walking away from him and picking up the basketball.

Ryan watched Josh and Cole walk away together towards the house and then slowly got up to his feet. He knew he was going to be in a great deal of trouble when he returned to the house, so he decided he'd walk it off for a few hours. He didn't want to go back anyway to the Miller's. He didn't feel like it was his home, but he knew he had to go back. It was his only way of a real life. He didn't have enough strength to run away now. Instead, Ryan just wandered the streets of Newport.

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"Seth, supper time!" Kirsten yelled from the bottom of the staircase.

Seth moaned out loud and looked up from his comic book. "Okay! Be right down!" He shouted. Seth got up from his bed and went to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. His face looked pretty beaten up and there was no way he was going go downstairs looking like this. So, he rummaged through his clothes in his dresser and pulled out an article. He put it on and went downstairs.

Seth walked into the dinning room and sat down at the table. 

"Seth, what on earth are you wearing?" Kirsten asked, serving herself some food.

"Is that a full ski mask?" Sandy questioned. Seth nodded his head and started serving himself. "Why on earth are you wearing a ski mask?" Seth shrugged. "Take it off, we're eating dinner."

"I'd rather not." Seth replied.

"Seth." Kirsten scowled. "Is this about Ryan?" She asked.

"It can be…Maybe…" Seth answered her, lifting the ski mask a little to shove the food from his fork into his mouth. 

"Seth, take it off now!" Kirsten exclaimed. As Seth took off his ski mask the phone rang and Sandy got up to answer it. "Seth! What happened?" Kirsten asked as she heard her words echo from the kitchen.

"What happened?" Sandy asked, holding the phone up to his ear. "No, I haven't seen him…. Are you sure? Okay, call when he gets in…Okay, bye." Sandy hung up the phone and looked at both Kirsten and Seth. They both looked worried. "What happened to your face, Seth?"

"I fell…Who was on the phone, Dad?" Seth asked.

"It was Tom Miller, from the group home. Ryan got into a fight with one of the kids and took off this morning."

"Oh God." Kirsten mumbled.

"See what you guys have done! If Ryan were here with us, nothing would happen to him!" Seth shouted at his parents and then left the house, slamming the door shut behind him. "Shit." Seth mumbled to himself, as he grabbed his skateboard and skated away. 

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Ryan's walked around Newport all afternoon and throughout the evening. He looked at his watch; it was close to seven o'clock at night. He knew he was close to the Cohen's so he decided to go visit Seth before he went back 'home' to the Miller's. As Ryan walked up to the lane way of the Cohen's house he spotted Marissa.

"Hey, it's you…" Marissa said coming out of the shadow's of the night. "I never got to thank you, for the other night."

"Do your friends always leave you outside like that?" Ryan asked dryly.

Marissa shook her head and smiled at him. "I thought you left."

"I – did…I was just visiting Seth."

"He's not home." Marissa stated.

"Oh, and how do you know that?" Ryan asked. He looked at Marissa and she looked hot. She was dressed in a mini skirt and a flashy tank top.

"I saw him skate off awhile ago…I've been here for awhile…I'm waiting for Summer to pick me up. She's late." Marissa said, and then quickly asked, "I'm going to this party at a friends place, you want to come?"

Ryan stepped closer into her, showing his face. "Don't think I can." He said, pointing to his face. "…I kind of look like crap."

"Oh God, what happened? Your nose is bleeding, Ryan."

"I got into a little fight." Ryan said, taking out a cigarette. He offered Marissa one and she accepted it. He lit them both up and shoved his lighter back into his pocket. "But, thanks." He said, backing away from her and taking a puff from his cigarette. "I guess, I'll be going then." He said turning his back away from her.

"Wait!" Marissa yelled out. Ryan turned around. "Will I ever see you again?"

Ryan shrugged, "Maybe."

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	2. The way we get by

+NOTE: I do not own any of these characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com+

(Thanks for those of you who reviewed!)

****

Chapter Two: The way we get by

"Is he home yet?" Cole asked, as he walked over to Wilma who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Not yet." She whispered.

"Cole, why don't you just go wait in your room." Tom said and then Cole went back upstairs. Tom looked over at Wilma. "What are we going to do when he does come home?" He asked.

"We'll do what we have to do. We'll handle this just as if he was one of our own, Tom. I'm not giving up on him already." She whispered, clinging onto the phone incase Ryan was to call. She knew he wouldn't because he didn't know the phone number for the house yet.

"Willie, it hasn't even been a day and he's already picked a fight with Josh. Maybe this is not the best place for Ryan." He stated.

"You know how Josh is, Tom. He has a bad temper. We've heard his side of the story and so now we need to hear Ryan's side when he comes home. Then we'll punish him just like we punished Josh. Fair is fair, Tom. I can't give up on that boy…not yet." She added. "I wish he'd call." Just then the phone rang and Wilma jumped. "Hello?" She asked.

"Hi Wilma, its Sandy."

"Sandy, is Ryan with you?" She asked quickly.

"No, I was just calling to see if he showed up yet…I guess not." Sandy said.

"No, not yet." Just then she heard the front door open and Ryan appeared. "Oh, he's here!"

"Thank God, can you get him to call me later?" Sandy asked.

"Yes, I'll make sure he does. Bye." Wilma said, hanging up the phone. She then stood up and faced Ryan. "Ryan, where have you been?" She asked, putting herself into her authority mode.

"I – I just was out…Walking." Ryan replied. He looked back and forth between Tom and Wilma. "I'll go if you don't want me here." He added.

"I never said I didn't want you here, Ryan. We're just upset that you would pull something like this on your first day with us!" Wilma exclaimed.

"Sit." Tom demanded to Ryan, pointing to the couch. Ryan took off his jacket and sat down on the couch. "What happened at the basketball court with Josh this morning?" He asked.

"We were just playing a little game of one on one and it got rough." Ryan admitted. Both Wilma and Tim nodded their heads as Ryan explained everything. It was the same story Josh had told. "I just lost control…It won't happen again."

"It better not." Tom said, sternly. He raised his hand to his face and Ryan cringed. Both Tom and Wilma noticed Ryan's reaction and looked at each other. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ryan." Ryan nodded his head at him and tried not to look at him. "You're grounded until school starts up, you'll do your chores and not go out unless we say it okay to, understand?" Ryan nodded his head. "Go clean up your face and then come get something to eat. You must be hungry." Tom said. Ryan got up quickly and left the living room and then headed towards the bathroom.

"At least he talked to us." Wilma whispered to Tom then walked into the kitchen and started nuking up some leftover spaghetti for Ryan.

Ryan stood in front of the mirror and stared at his face. It wasn't that bad than what he thought it looked liked. He wondered how much damage he did to Josh. He deserved it anyway, Ryan thought to himself. After cleaning up his face Ryan returned to the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Here you go, kid." Wilma said, putting down a plate of spaghetti in front of him. She then sat down with him and watched him eat. "Go anywhere interesting?" She asked. Ryan shook his head as he shoved some food into his mouth. "After your done you have to call Sandy, okay?"

"Okay." Ryan mumbled and then Wilma left him to eat alone. Ryan scarfed down the rest of his spaghetti. He was dying of hunger all day. It was almost like he was back in Chino with his mom. They never had enough money to buy food, so he would have to starve himself for days on end. In a way he worshiped these spoiled rotten Noopsies.

Ryan picked up the phone in the kitchen and dialed the Cohen's phone number. 

"Hello?"

"Hey, Seth." Ryan said.

"Dude, where the hell have you been? I heard that you got into a brawl with a kid and ran off…Is that true?" He questioned.

"Yeah, well I didn't really run off, Seth. I just had to clear my head and go for a walk."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever, so how is it there?"

"Fine. They are nice…I'm grounded though until next week when school starts up."

"Dude, that sucks…So I guess I can't come and visit you in Chino then."

"I'm not in Chino, I'm in Newport." 

"Shit! Are you serious! Even better, man!" Seth exclaimed.

"Yeah…So we'll hang out then…After I'm grounded and all…" Ryan replied.

"Yeah." Seth replied dryly. "I don't know why you couldn't have stayed here…I live in like a mansion and there's only three people that live here. It's boring without you."

"Seth, I was only there for like three days, not even." Ryan laughed.

"Three very long days." Seth commented. "What school are you going to?"

"Uh, they said some public school up the road."

"Dude, that's awesome. At least you don't have to go to some prep school and pretend like you belong to a culture of water polo jocks." Seth said. He heard a knock at his door. "Hold on." He told Ryan. He walked over to his bedroom door and opened it. "What?" Seth asked.

"Is that Ryan?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah…We're talking. It's what friends do; talk." Sandy raised his eyebrow at Seth and shot him a look. Seth put the phone back up to his ear. "Hey, I'll talk to you later…My Dad wants to talk to you." He said and then handed the phone over to his dad. 

Sandy took the phone and walked off, hearing his son's door slam shut. "Ryan…"

"Hey, Sandy." Ryan replied. He didn't want to talk to Sandy right now. He wasn't in the mood for any lecture his lawyer was going to give to him.

"How are you?"

"Fine." 

"Fine?" Sandy asked. "You're on probation, Ryan. You shouldn't be getting into any fights. You need to take control of those fists of yours and use your head. You're smart, Ryan."

"Yeah." Ryan mumbled. How could Sandy possibly know what he's going through, Ryan thought to himself. This guy had no clue how tough it was for him to move into a group home and try to get along with everyone, while faking a half-ass smile to please them.

"Don't do it again." Sandy said and then continued. "Well, I'll talk to you later and make sure you call if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay." Ryan replied and then hung up the phone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was the first day of school today. All week Ryan had been cooped up in the Miller's house doing chores because he was grounded. He had tried to stay out of Josh's way but that was difficult because it was such a small house. They said a few words to each other, but that was about it. Seth had called him almost every single day because he wasn't able to see him. They had made plans today after school though. Seth was going to pick Ryan up right after school. Ryan hadn't told the Miller's yet, but he would.

"Morning, Ryan. Help yourself to some cereal." Wilma said, placing a bowl out in front of him. Ryan settled into the chair next to Cole in the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cheerios. "So, you and Josh are going to be in the same grade…Maybe you will have some classes together." Wilma commented.

"He's a year older than me." Ryan responded, shooting Josh a look.

"I flunked last year, asshole." Josh stammered and then left the kitchen. 

"Boys, try a little harder and be friends, will you." Tom shouted out at Josh and Ryan. Ryan shrugged and continued eating his Cheerios.

"So, uh – I'm going to meet up with a friend after school today. Is that okay?" Ryan asked.

"Who is this friend?" Tom questioned.

"Seth Cohen, the one who's been calling. My attorney's son. Is that okay?" 

"Sure it is, Ryan. Just be home before six, okay." Wilma said, patting him on the back. "You boy's best be going…You don't want to be late for your first day of school." She said, and then Cole and Ryan got up and grabbed their backpacks.

Ryan, Cole and Josh walked to school together with little conversation between the three of them. Cole was doing all the talking and Ryan wondered if Seth would want to hang out with Cole sometime. He wasn't a bad kid at all. He found out the other day that Cole's parents died five years ago in a car accident and he's been with the Miller's ever since. Ryan felt bad for him and tried to be friends with him as much as he could. 

When they got to school all three of them split up. He noticed Cole and Josh had their own separate group of friends, while Ryan didn't have any. He knew it was going to be a long day, heck a long two years at his 'new' high school. The morning classes were easy for him and he was only in one of Josh's classes. But, in the afternoon he was practically in every single class with Josh, except one. Ryan was the immediate topic of conversation in all of his classes with Josh. Josh had a lot of friends, and so therefore, Ryan had a lot of enemies. Ryan knew he was never going to survive two whole years here.

The last bell of the day rang at three o'clock and Ryan waited outside in front of the school parking lot, waiting for Seth to come and pick him up.

"Hey, Ryan." Ryan heard someone shouting his name, but couldn't see who it was. "Ryyyannn." He heard his name again and put a name to the voice. It was Cole.

"Hey." Ryan said, as he saw Cole walk up to him.

"You see those kids over there." Cole said, tilting his head. "Wait, don't look…but like you see them right?"

"Yeah…" Ryan replied. There were a group of kids around Ryan's age, maybe older than him, standing in front of a car looking at them. 

"Well, you see…If I walk by them I'm going to get my ass kicked in and possibly get chased and have my underwear hang on the school flag pole…So I was wondering…Can you walk home with me?" Cole asked.

"Uh – I can't. Why do they want to beat you up, anyway?"

"Long story…You see, last year I kind of humiliated them…Why can't you walk me home? You got a hot date or something?" Cole laughed at him. "Come on, it's like two blocks."

"If it's only two blocks then why don't you just run home?" Ryan questioned.

"I'm not athletic…But they are." Cole said, turning around, looking at them. They didn't look like they were going to leave until Cole left. "I'll do anything for you." 

Just then Seth pulled up in his Dad's Range Rover. "Dude, hop in…" Seth shouted out to Ryan.

"Please?" Cole pleaded to Ryan.

Ryan went up to the Range Rover. "Is it okay if we drive him." Ryan pointed over to Cole. "Some kids are going to beat him up if he walks home alone."

Seth laughed, "Yeah sure, no problem…I know exactly how it feels."

"Okay, you're getting a drive." Ryan shouted out to Cole, but he was already hopping into the backseat. 

Seth pulled out of the parking lot and the kids that were going to beat up Cole pulled out as well. "Uh, guys…" Cole shouted from the backseat. "We've got company!" Seth pressed on the accelerator and swerved around traffic to try and lose them. "Maybe home isn't such a good idea, guys. If they know where I live, then I'll for sure never sleep again for the rest of my life!"

Seth started to laugh and turned to Ryan. "Sweet company you have there, Ryan. He can tag along if you want. We're just going over the crab shack and grabbing some food. Then I thought maybe we could go back to my place to eat junk and play some Playstation."

Ryan shrugged and turned around. "You like crab and Playstation, Cole?"

"Uh, sure…" Cole replied, still looking out of the back window. He didn't see the kids anymore. "So…uh, who's this, Ryan?

"Seth Cohen…Seth, this is Cole Jenkins." Ryan introduced them.

"Oh, so this is Cole…" Seth laughed. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cole demanded. Neither Ryan nor Seth said anything. 

"Hello!" Cole shouted from the backseat.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sandy was in court all day today. It was a long day and all he wanted to do was go home, sit down and relax. But he knew that was never going to happen. He had to go to his office because he had people waiting for him. The youth of California were waiting for him in files spread across his desk. He finally made it over to his office at three thirty, hoping the day was soon over. 

"Sandy, where have you been!" His secretary demanded.

"In court, where else?" He laughed. "Do I have any messages?"

"A Dawn Atwood called and she – ."

Sandy cut her off. "Did she leave a number? Anything?" He asked

His secretary handed him a piece of paper. "Phone number and address…What would you do without me?"

"You're the best, Gwen." He shouted out to her, closing the door to his small office. He pulled out Ryan's file he had in his briefcase and opened it up. He then called Dawn's number that was scribbled on the piece of paper.

"Hello?" A male scratchy voice answered the phone.

"Hello, is Dawn Atwood there?" Sandy asked, keeping his voice calm and cool. He couldn't wait to tell Ryan that he had found his mother. Poor kid, Sandy thought to himself.

"Who's calling?" The guy asked.

"Sandy Cohen, Ryan's attorney." 

"What's the shit done now?" The guy yelled into the phone.

"He has done nothing…. Mr.?"

"Mr. Nothing…So you want to talk to Dawn, is that it?" The man questioned.

"Yes." Sandy replied. 

Sandy heard the phone crackle a bit and then some yelling. Seconds later he heard a woman's voice. "Who's this?"

"Sandy Cohen, Ryan's attorney. You called me earlier, remember."

"Yes, I did…I just wanted to let you know, well…to let Ryan know that it's over. I want him in the system."

"What?" Sandy asked. How could she just give up on her son?

"You heard me." She bickered into the phone. "I don't want him. So quit trying to find me and harass me, okay. I don't want him." She yelled at him and then hung up the phone.

Sandy smashed his phone down and slouched back into his worn down leathered chair. It creaked with every movement he made. He contemplated on calling Ryan right now, or driving over to visit him and talking to him in person. He decided that he would go over to see him. He knew he couldn't tell Ryan over the phone. It wasn't Sandy's nature to do such a thing.

Sandy left his office ignoring the stack of files that were scattered across his desk and drove to Wilma and Tom Miller's house. It was the first time that he had been to the group home. He contemplated on visiting him earlier, but changed his mind when Tom had told him that he was grounded. 

He pulled up into the Miller's lane way and parked his car. He then went up to the door and knocked. A boy around Seth and Ryan's age answered the door. Sandy could tell right away that it was Josh because he had faded bruises on his face.

"Hi, I'm Sandy Cohen…Is Ryan around?" Sandy asked Josh.

"No. He hasn't come home from school yet." Josh replied, through the screen door. Wilma then appeared next to him and Josh backed away from the door.

"Sandy! What are you doing here?" Wilma asked, opening the screen door and letting him in.

"I came to talk to Ryan." Sandy replied, looking around the house. It looked like a nice place to live. Small and cozy compared to his mansion.

"Oh, I'm sorry he's not going to be home until dinner time. He's at your house."

"My house?" Sandy repeated.

"He told me he was going to hang out with Seth, your son."

"Right, of course. Okay, well thanks." Sandy said, turning around and walking over to his car. "Take care, Wilma." He said, as he drove off. Wilma smiled at him and waved. Sandy made his way home, hoping for Ryan to be there.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"There's an art to eating Crab, you know." Seth explained to Ryan and Cole. "Eating anything is an art."

"You're very odd, Seth. Very odd." Ryan commented. 

"I'm odd?" Seth repeated. "I'm not the one eating Crab with a salad." Seth laughed at him. "A salad, Ryan? You sure are trying to fit into the Newport scene, aren't you?"

"I like salad." Ryan retorted.

"Whatever, Ryan." Seth replied, focusing on his Crab. "This Crab I have before me…We are one. Like the body and the blood…" Seth mumbled to himself before he devoured the Crab. 

Ryan laughed at Seth and then looked pass him, as he saw Luke and Marissa walk into the Crab Shack. "We've got company…." Ryan said, putting his napkin down on his salad. 

"Huh?" Cole asked. 

Seth turned around and spotted Luke and Marissa. "Don't worry…We're in a restaurant. It's not like he's going to pick a fight with you in this place." Seth commented.

"Who are they?" Cole asked.

"When I was staying over at Seth's house we got into a little brawl with that guy." Ryan pointed over to Luke, who was coming their way.

"Yeah and he also has a little crush on Marissa…Don't think I didn't notice, Ryan." Seth laughed and Ryan glared at him.

Marissa took a seat at the booth across from them, while Luke noticed Seth was with Chino and some other kid. He walked up to them. "What the hell is Chino still doing here?" Luke demanded. "I thought I made it clear to you that I didn't want to see your face around here."

"Get used to it." Ryan shot back.

"You're going to have to get used to my fist in your face then." Luke said, Marissa was now behind him, holding him back.

"Luke, come on. We came here to eat. Hi Ryan." She said, nodded at him.

"What's this?" Luke questioned, turning to her. "Why are you talking to a piece of shit like Chino. He doesn't deserve to be looking at someone as beautiful as you are." Marissa blushed at the comment and sat back down in her booth. "Get out of here." Luke demanded.

Seth took out his wallet and put down his money and slid out of the booth. Cole followed him but Ryan remained seated. "Free country, Luke. I like eating here…So, I'm going to eat here."

Luke laughed nervously. "You sure about that, Chino?" He asked. Ryan nodded his head and stayed put. Seth and Cole were near the restaurant door waiting for Ryan.

"What the hell is he doing?" Seth asked to no one in particular.

Cole shrugged. "Proving a point, maybe?" Seth nodded.

Luke stood at the booth waiting for Ryan to leave. "I said get out, Chino." Ryan didn't move and Luke grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him out of the booth. Marissa came running up to him and yelled at him. Luke ignored her and continued dragging Ryan out of the booth.

"Boys, take it outside." A waiter yelled at them.

"Luke!" Marissa yelled. "Leave him alone!"

Luke turned around, "Marissa, why don't you just go back to the booth and wait!" Just then Ryan punched him square in the face. Luke pulled at his shirt even more and punched him back. 

The manager then came running out onto the floor. "Don't make me call the police, boys!" He yelled at them/ 

Luke punched Ryan again and then let him go after he was pleased with what he saw. Ryan's face was bloody. Ryan turned away from Luke and started to walk out of the place. "Get lost, queer." Luke shouted out to him. Ryan turned around and jumped him again. 

Cole came running up to them and split them apart. "Let's get out of here, Ryan!" The manager was screaming at them, threatening to call the cops. Ryan looked back at Luke and was pleased to see him still on the ground. "Let's go!" Cole shouted again. Both Ryan and Cole ran out of the restaurant and met up with Seth who had already started the Range Rover. They got in and drove to Seth's house. 

When they got to Seth's house they pilled into the den and started playing Tony Hawk Pro Skate: 4. "Okay, who wants to get beaten?" Seth asked.

"Cole, you go ahead…I know he'll kick my ass." Ryan said, and then slouched back into the couch and watched them battle on the television. Cole was pretty good at the game and was almost beating Seth. "Watch out, Seth. We have a pro here." Ryan commented. Just then Sandy came into the den.

"Hey Seth, hey Ryan…hey." Sandy waved at the three boys.

"Hey Sandy, this is Cole." Ryan introduced him.

Cole nodded his head and continued focusing on the game.

"What happened to you, Ryan?" Sandy asked pointing to his bruised and bloodied face.

"Nothing." Ryan replied, trying to ignore Sandy's look.

"Yeah right it's nothing, Ryan. Come here and let me take a look at your eye. You're going to need some ice. Come on." Sandy said, walking into the kitchen. Ryan followed him into the kitchen and sat down on the stool at the kitchen island. Sandy gave him a packet of ice. "Here." He said, giving it to him. "So, what happened?"

"We ran into Luke, it was nothing."

"Ryan, you know you shouldn't be getting into any fights."

"Yeah, I know…He started it though. But I promise, no more fighting." He then got up making his way back to the den, but Sandy stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Sit, we need to talk." Sandy said, motioning for him to sit back down.

Ryan sat back down in the stool. "What?"

"I got in touch with your Mom, Ryan and – "

Ryan cut him off. "Where is she?"

"She's living in Chino, Ryan."

"Great, I mean…I can go back to her then and leave the group home, right?" Ryan questioned. The ice was starting to melt in his hand and the cut above his eye was starting to sting.

"Ryan, she called to tell me that she wanted you in the system. Living with her right now may not be the best solution to all your – her problems right now, Ryan. The Miller's are great people, Ryan." Sandy reassured him. Ryan dropped the ice pack on the counter and put his head in his hands. "Are you okay, Ryan?" Sandy asked. He walked up to Ryan and put his hand on his shoulder.

Ryan stood up. "I'm fine." He said, staring at his feet and walking back into the den. "Come on, Cole. We have to go."

"What are you talking about? Just when I've started beating him, we have to go?" Cole asked, pausing the game.

"Dude, stay awhile." Seth said. He realized something was up with Ryan. "What's wrong, man?"

"Nothing – Cole we have to go!" Ryan ordered. Cole and Seth exchanged looks at each other.

Sandy walked into the den. "I'll drive you boys home." He offered.

"No, it's okay…We can bus." Ryan replied.

"No, I'm driving you." Sandy said, sternly. Sandy left and Cole followed him.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Seth asked.

"I'll tell you later, Seth." Ryan promised him and then left.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ryan lay on his bed in his new room and stared up at the ceiling. He had been laying there ever since he got home over an hour ago. Wilma had called him down for supper, but he wasn't hungry. He didn't tell her that he had already eaten, but Cole didn't say anything. When Sandy dropped him off he kept on asking him if he was okay. Of course he wasn't, Ryan thought to himself. He didn't believe what Sandy had told him about his mom. It couldn't be true, he thought to himself. His Mom had loved him, hadn't she?

Ryan sat up in his bed and grabbed his bag. He then went over to his dresser and shoved some clothes in. He didn't know if he was ever going to come back or not, but he took his clothes anyway.

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door and Ryan shoved his bag under his bed. "Come in." He shouted out, taking a schoolbook out and pretending to read it on his bed.

"Hey, kid." Tom said, walking into the room. "Are you okay?"

"What? I – I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Ryan asked, his eyes were glued to the book, pretending to read.

"We know about your mother, Ryan. If you need to talk to anyone, I'm here."

"Okay."

"Hey, why don't you come downstairs…Josh and Cole are starting up a movie in the basement, why don't you join them." Tom suggested.

"I have homework." Ryan replied.

"On the first day of school?" Tom laughed at him. "Come on, it's a horror movie…I'm sure you love a good horror flick."

Ryan closed his book and sighed. "Okay, I'll be right down." He said and then Tom left the room. "Great…" Ryan mumbled to himself as he left his room. 

He went downstairs and found Cole and Josh waiting for him. "Hey, can you get the lights?" Cole asked. Ryan shut the lights off in the basement and sat down next to Cole on the couch. Josh was ignoring him, as usual. "So, what happened today…At Seth's house?" Cole asked.

"Shut up, Cole…The movie's on." Josh spat out at him.

"It's the previews, Josh…So what happened." Cole asked again.

"Drop it, Cole…Seriously…" Ryan was getting ticked off. 

Josh started to laugh. "What's the matter?" He snarled. "Found out your folks ain't coming to get you?" 

Ryan clenched his fists. "Yeah, like you…"

"At least I know they ain't coming to get me, unlike you. You think you're different than I am? Well you're not…we're all the same, except for Cole…His parents didn't flip out on him; they died."

"Shut up." Cole yelled at him. "Let's just watch the movie!"

"No. So you really think you're tough don't you, Ryan?" Josh stood up in anger. "You think you have it all figured out? Is that it?" Ryan ignored him and continued watching the previews. "So what is it?" He asked

"Let's just watch the movie!" Cole yelled at him and stood up to face him. "Just stop it!"

"Make me." Josh replied, shoving Cole back on the couch. 

"Hey, watch it." Ryan said, standing up from the couch. "Is it me you're really talking about or is it you? Do you have everything figured out? What happened to you're folks? Did they split – "

Josh ran towards him and sucker punched him in the stomach. Cole got up from the couch and ran upstairs to get someone. Ryan and Josh were both on the couch throwing punches when Tom came running downstairs to stop the fight. "Boys!" He yelled at them, pulling them apart from each other. Ryan's nose was all bloody. "Go to your room, Ryan." Tom ordered. Ryan left the basement and went to his room, storming pass Wilma on his way up. He grabbed his bag out from under his bed and fled the house. Wilma was calling out after him but Ryan ignored her and continued running.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Seth was sitting at his desk downloading music, when his dad walked in on him. "Have you ever heard of knocking?" Seth asked, closing his browser.

"We Cohen's do not believe in knocking…Haven't you noticed?" Sandy said, sitting down on his bed. "Anyway, I came to explain to you what happened today with Ryan."

Seth swiveled in his chair and faced his dad. "What did you tell him in the kitchen?" He asked.

"I got a call from his mother today and she practically told me she doesn't want Ryan in her life." Sandy sighed. "Can you believe that?"

"No, I can't. I also can't believe you sent him off to some group home!" Seth expressed. "You dumped him like garbage!"

"Seth, you have to understand though – ."

Seth cut him off. "No, Dad you have to understand! He hates it there! Can't you see it…God." He threw his hands in the air. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ran away!"

"Seth." Sandy scowled and was about to say something, but then the phone rang. Sandy got up and walked over to Seth's night table. He picked up the phone, "Hello?" He asked. 

"Is Seth there?" 

"Ryan, is that you? Are you okay?" Sandy asked. He wished he were downstairs because there was caller ID on the phone in the kitchen. Seth didn't have call display and Sandy thought for sure he was calling from a pay phone, but it was hard to tell.

"Yeah, it's me…I'm fine." Ryan replied.

"Great. Well, here's Seth." Sandy passed the phone over to Seth and left his room.

"Hey, what's up?" Seth asked.

"Look, I need you to do me a favor." Ryan asked, the phone was crackling a bit and Seth could hardly hear him properly.

"Where are you, Ryan?"

"Can you do me a favor or not, Seth?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…Anything, what is it? What do you want me to do?" Seth questioned. There was a long pause on the other line and Seth wondered if Ryan was still there. "Ryan, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry…So can you do me a favor, without letting your Dad find out?" Ryan asked again.

"Yeah, what is it?"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


	3. Love of the Loveless

+NOTE: I do not own any of these characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com+

(Thanks for those of you who reviewed!)

****

Chapter Three: Love of the Loveless

"Yeah, sorry…So can you do me a favor, without letting your Dad find out?" Ryan asked again.

"Yeah, what is it?" Seth asked. He didn't like the way Ryan sounded over the phone.

"I need you to get something from your Dad's office for me. Can you do that?" Ryan questioned. He was calling from a payphone near the pier and it was getting dark outside. He knew he had to start looking for shelter before it got too dark outside.

"You mean, you want me to break into my Dad's office and steal something?" Seth replied and cut Ryan off before he said anything. "How would I be helping you?"

"If you do this – I need to see my Mom, Seth. I need to know if what…I just need to see her." Ryan explained. "So can you do it or not?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course, Ryan." Seth didn't tell him that he knew about his mom. He didn't want to push the subject any further. "Where are you?" He asked.

"I ran away." There was an awkward pause and then Ryan continued. "You're not going to tell on me are you?"

"Shit, Ryan. No…I want to help you! And if it means getting caught and being grounded for the rest of my adolescence, I will do it. Just tell me where and when you want to meet and I'll get whatever you want."

"Thanks." Ryan replied. "Okay, I need you to go into your Dad's office and look for my file. I think he knows where my mom is living…Just try and get me anything that concerns my Mom. I really need to talk to her. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'm actually a great detective. I used to play detective in my Dad's office all the time." Seth blabbed on nervously. "So, where do you want to meet? I'll have to sneak out on my parents, 'cause I normally don't go for a skate at ten o'clock at night."

"Well, I'll be hanging around the pier. Come whenever you find it."

"Okay. I'll see you soon." Seth said and then hung up the phone. He walked out of his room and slowly made his way down the long hallway. He carefully listened for his parents. He could hear them in their room talking about his grandfather, Caleb Nichol, and his mom's new model home project. He quietly walked passed their bedroom and went downstairs into his dad's office.

"Okay…Let's see what I can find here…" Seth mumbled to himself as he snooped through his dad's desk. He opened a drawer and found two chocolate bars. "Oh, what do we have here. Oh … Oh … Oh Henry…" Seth grabbed an Oh Henry bar and starting eating it, as he looked through his dad's stuff. He found a bunch of files stacked under this morning's newspaper, but didn't find Ryan's. "Focus!" Seth told himself. "It's got to be here somewhere…" He mumbled. 

Seth looked high and low but didn't find anything that concerned Dawn Atwood. He didn't want to let Ryan down – he couldn't let Ryan down. He searched over his dad's desk again, but still no file. As he was leaving the office he spotting his dad's briefcase. He picked it up; praying it wasn't a locked briefcase. And it wasn't. He opened it and searched through it's content. "Jackpot." Seth whispered to himself, as he pulled out Ryan's file. He sat down at his dad's desk and started to go through his file.

"Busy guy…Suspended twice for fighting, truancy three times…98 percent on his SAT?! Huh…Whoa." Seth flipped through hospital documents and read them through carefully. "Broken ribs…arm…FINGERS?! Give me a break." Seth yelled out. _Can we say child abuse,_ Seth thought to himself. _How could Ryan want to go back to his mom? She doesn't deserve him!_

Seth heard his parent's voices coming closer into the distance, and closed Ryan's file and put it under his shirt. He then put his Dad's briefcase back on the floor at the door and slid out of the room. He quickly ran to the den and turned on the Playsation.

Sandy and Kirsten both walked into the den with worried looks. "What?" Seth asked.

"Seth, we need to talk to you." Sandy said. "When Ryan called you earlier…Where was he?" 

"I don't know. I'm assuming he was at the Miller's where he lives." Seth lied to his parents.

"Seth." Kirsten scowled. "Ryan ran away. If you know where he is I want you to tell us before everything gets out of hand. We don't want to bring the police into this." Kirsten explained. "He's on probation."

"Oh, so now you guys actually care about him." Seth said, throwing the Playsation controller on the couch next to him and standing up. He shook his head at his parents and laughed. "You guys don't know anything about him, you know. I don't understand why he can't live with us. We have all this room – yet you still decided to ship him off." Seth yelled.

"Seth, we are the parents here. We make the decisions!" Sandy was furious at Seth. "Tell us where he is!"

"I don't know!" Seth yelled back at his parents. He then left the den and went to his room. He slammed his bedroom door and locked it behind. He pulled out Ryan's file and scanned it. "Bingo." He said out loud. He found a piece of paper with Dawn's address and phone number. Grabbing his skateboard and Ryan's file, he climbed out of his window and carefully walked over to the balcony that was attached to the guestroom. He climbed back into the house through the window and tiptoed his way out of the house. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"I think Seth knows where he is!" Sandy paced the kitchen floor. He had just gotten off the phone with Tom Miller. Tom was going to wait until eleven o'clock, and then he would call the police.

"Are you accusing him of lying?" Kirsten asked. "That'll be really good for your relationship."

Sandy ignored her. "Maybe I should go talk to him again."

"Let him be, Sandy. You'll only make matters worse. Tom and Wilma told us they had everything under control. Ryan isn't out responsibility…Why are you so worried?"

"I was this kid, Kirsten! I thought I could help him…" Sandy trailed off. He knew he wasn't helping Ryan when he sent him off to a group home. But he knew the group home was better than living with Dawn Atwood and her boyfriends. He didn't know a lot about Ryan, but he had a hunch about him. He wasn't going to give up on him right now and let him slip through the cracks. "I just want him to have a normal life, that's all. I'm going to go for a drive." He grabbed his keys off the counter and left the house before Kirsten could protest any further.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Seth was out of breath when he reached the pier. He didn't see Ryan anywhere in sight. He picked up his skateboard and walked around.

"Seth, over here." Ryan shouted out to him. 

Seth twirled around and spotted Ryan in the darkness. "Hey." He pulled out his file. "Pretty impressive stuff you got." He commented, handing it to him. "It's all in there…Your Mom's address and phone number…Look, Ryan, I don't think you should go see her." Seth warned him. "My Dad told me about how she just…Just handed you over to Child Services."

"Seth, whatever you have to say to me won't stop me from seeing my Mom. I need to see her, I need to talk to her." Ryan explained. "Did anyone see you leave?"

"No, I was pretty sneaky. My Dad is going crazy though. It won't be long until he threatens to murder me if I don't talk. He knows I know where you are." There was an awkward silence between the two of them. "I'm going with you, Ryan."

"What – No you're not. This has nothing to do with you, or your family. I need to handle this myself, Seth. Just go home and don't tell anyone where I am, okay?" Ryan asked. 

Seth ignored his request and asked, "Exactly how are you going to visit her? I don't see a car or a bike. And I know that you don't exactly have enough money to bus to Chino."

"You're not coming with me, Seth." Ryan retorted. "I'll hitchhike if I have to."

"Do you not watch horror movies, Ryan!? There's no way you're hitchhiking. It's dark out…That's when all the creeps come out of their little tiny hole to-"

"Seth." Ryan stopped him. "You don't exactly have a car either." He commented, pointing to Seth's skateboard.

"True, you have a point. But, you've missed the obvious. My parents are loaded – Well, not my dad, but you get the point. – So, that means, I've got a bit of money myself. I could help you. For instance," Seth poked him in the chest. "I could pay for a cab."

"Seth, I'm, uh…I'm not taking your money. I'm not a charity case." Ryan said.

"Dude, don't you even get into _charity_ _cases._ Believe me, you're not a charity case." Seth explained. "Look, if I go back home my parents are going to drill me of your whereabouts. It's best for me to stay with you because then you know they don't know where you are. Come on dude. Let's do it." Seth begged.

"Fine. You pay for the cab now, but I'm paying you back. And when I get to my Mom's place, you go home. Deal?"

"Whatever floats your boat."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"I'm calling the police and I'm reporting him missing." Tom said and then picked up the phone.

Wilma shook her head in disappointment and went into the kitchen to brew up some more coffee. Josh was in the kitchen eating a late night snack.

"You should be in bed." Wilma told him, patting him on the top of the head.

"Does this mean I'm leaving?"" Josh whispered.

"What? No, why would you think that?" She asked, sitting down at the table with him.

"Ryan left because of me, Wilma. I didn't think he would actually run off like he did. I'm for sure a goner." Josh closed his eyes. "Sorry."

"You're not going anywhere, Josh. This is your house." Wilma swallowed hard. "I think it's best that we find Ryan a new home." She said. She stood up from the table and poured two cups of coffee. "Off to bed now." She told him.

Josh left the kitchen in a hurry with a smile across his face.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"So, when you get there, Ryan, uh…What are you going to do?" Seth asked. They were in the back of the cab.

Ryan looked out of his window. "I need to know…" Ryan trailed off and looked back at his folder. He opened it and looked through all the papers. "It's funny, you don't realize how much of a screw up you are, until this." He pointed to the documents.

"Ryan, you're not – "

Ryan cut him off. "She's family, Seth. I know what you're thinking." Ryan stopped and cleared his throat. "You're thinking she did all of this." He said, referring to the hospital documents. "She didn't."

"Who did?" Seth asked.

"I did." Ryan whispered. "I screwed up." He looked out of the cab window and watched the scenery go by. "I need to know if what she told your Dad is true."

Seth didn't say anything. He wasn't sure how to comfort Ryan. They sat the rest of the ride in silence.

"This it?" The cab driver asked, as he pulled up to the side of the road.

Ryan looked at the old apartment building and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." He replied. He looked at Seth. "Thanks. Take the cab back home and don't tell your parents where I am."

"No, I'm coming with you, Ryan." Seth opened his door.

Ryan grabbed Seth's arm. "No. I have to do this alone. Just leave, okay?"

"Dude, I'm your friend. I can't leave you hanging on for something you're not sure will hold. I won't go in with you, I'll just wait outside." Seth replied.

Ryan opened his door and got out. Seth paid the cab driver, got out and stood with Ryan in front of the apartment building.

"I'll just wait right here." Seth told him.

"Okay, but if I'm not back in ten minutes…Then leave. I'll be fine." Ryan told him, as he walked into the apartment building. Seth didn't follow him; instead he stayed behind and sat down on the cold cement stairs. Ryan checked the piece of paper that was in his folder. His mom lived on the second floor in room twenty-two. The elevator was out of order, so Ryan had to use the staircase. He gagged at the scent of urine, as he made his way up the stairs.

Ryan walked down the dirty hallway and came to room twenty-two. He pressed his ear against the door to see if his Mom was alone or not. He didn't hear anything, so he knocked.

"You're late!" He heard his mom's voice shout out. "Get your ass in here!"

Ryan grasped onto the doorknob and took a deep breath. He opened the door.

"Ryan, what the fuck? What they hell are you doing here?" His mom scrambled off the floor, trying to hide the needles. "Cat got your tongue?" She joked.

Ryan eyed his mom. She was very thin and pale and he could tell that she was back into her old routine. "Mom, what are you doing?" He asked, still standing in the doorway

"Get in here before the landlord sees you!" She yelled at him. Ryan stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to see you." Ryan replied, looking around the small apartment. 

"I thought I told that lawyer of yours I didn't want to see you." His mom snapped at him. She took out a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and poured herself a drink.

"Mom." Ryan whispered. "I came to see if what you told Mr. Cohen was true or not…I guess it is. Why?" Ryan asked.

"Fuck, Ryan. You're always asking questions! Can't I just do something for once, without you opening your Goddamn mouth? You're just like you're father!" Ryan backed away from her, as she walked up to him. "Why?" She hissed. "You want to know, why?" Her breath smelt of vodka. "You don't need me and I don't need you to screw up my life. How's that for an answer?" She questioned, pouring herself another drink.

"Mom, I need you! What the hell am I supposed to do?" Ryan yelled at her.

Dawn shook her head. "You don't need me. We both screwed up. I knew you'd turn out just like your father and your brother. You wait." She hissed. "You'll soon be rotting in jail, just like the rest of them!"

"What am I going to do?" Ryan whispered.

"There you go again with the Goddamn questions." She chucked the bottle of liquor to the ground, as she finished it up. "Ry, don't you get it? I thought you were a smart boy…Guess I was wrong." Just then there was a loud knock on the door. "Who is it?" She demanded.

"It's me!" A male's voice shouted.

"It's open!" Dawn yelled.

Ryan turned around to see A.J. at the door. He knew he had to get out of here fast. He could tell A.J. was wasted, just like his mom.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" A.J. demanded.

"He's questioning my authority." Dawn stated.

Ryan clenched his fists, sensing a fight. "I just came to visit." Ryan replied calmly.

"A visit, huh?" A.J. snorted. 

Ryan ignored A.J. "Mom…So, it's over?" Ryan couldn't believe it. As if his mom would just kick him out and then abandon him. He thought his mom loved him. They were family.

"It's over, now get out!" A.J. demanded.

"I'm asking her." Ryan muttered.

A.J. stepped into Ryan. "What was that?" He asked, spit globs were flying into Ryan's face. "Is that how you talk to your elders?"

"Your nothing close to being one." Ryan retorted.

"Ryan, leave it. Just go." His mom said.

A.J. grabbed a hold of Ryan's jacket. "I don't ever want to see your fucking face here ever again. You hear?" Ryan didn't reply. He stood there, with A.J. grip on his jacket, staring back and forth between his mom and A.J. A.J. pinched Ryan's side. "You hear me?" 

Ryan shook his head and spat in his face. "She's my mother! You can't tell me not to see her!" 

"Ryan, he's not telling you, I am!" Dawn shouted at him.

A.J. let go of his grip from Ryan's jacket and wiped the spit off of his face. "You're nothing but a fucking nuisance to this world." He yelled at Ryan and then punched him in the face. Ryan fell down to the ground and A.J. continued kicking him. Ryan curled up into a little ball, waiting for the kicking to stop. 

"A.J., stop it. Ryan, leave!" Dawn yelled at the two of them.

A.J. stopped kicking and Ryan slowly got up and made his way to the door and opened it. A.J. muttered something to him and turned his back. Ryan grabbed the closest thing to him, a beer bottle, and smashed it over A.J. head. The bottle hit his head hard, smashing into little pieces. 

A.J. turned around, shocked from the blow and charged Ryan. They both flew out into the hallway. A.J. smashed Ryan's head against the cement wall and then kicked him. "Get out and stay out." He muttered and then went back inside the apartment, closing the door.

Ryan lay in the middle of the hallway, unconscious. 

Seth looked up at the dark sky and felt his pants vibrating. "What the…" Seth jumped up and then realized it was his cell phone. He forgot he had it and that it was on vibrate mode. He checked the number that had just called. It was his parents. They knew he wasn't in bed. "Shit." Seth mumbled. He looked up at the apartment building and checked his watch. Ryan had been in there for over ten minutes. He wasn't sure if he should check on him or not, but he decided he should. That's what a true friend would do. 

Seth walked into the apartment building and waited for the elevator to come down. He stood there for a good two minutes cursing at the elevator, when he noticed the 'Out of Order' sign, posted to the side of the elevator. "Jackass." Seth mumbled to himself, as he made his way up the stairs. He was close to vomiting as he passed by a puddle of urine. "Note to self; never live in an apartment on the outskirts of Chino." He told himself.

Seth got to the second floor and saw Ryan lying in the middle of the hallway. He ran up to his friend and shook him. "Dude. Wake up." Seth picked Ryan's head up off the floor and felt a sticky substance on his hand. He pulled his hand away and examined the blood. "Shit, what the hell happened?" Seth looked over to the apartment door. "Did she do this to you? Don't worry, Ryan." He told him, even though Ryan was obviously not awake to hear him. 

Seth pulled out his cellphone and dialed his home phone number.

"Seth?" His dad answered. "Where the hell are you?"

"Dad, chill. I'm with Ryan and – "

Sandy cut him off. "Where are you? You are in big trouble, Seth! How could you run off like this…"

"Dad! Will you shut up and just listen to me!" Seth blurted. He lowered his voice and said, "Ryan and I went to his Mom's apartment, and I left him to go talk to her and now…Shit, Dad, I don't know what the hell happened. Ryan's passed out and he's bleeding!" Seth looked at his bloody hands. "I don't know what to do, Dad."

"Seth, listen to me." Sandy said in a calm voice. "I want you to call an ambulance, okay?"

"Yeah." Seth nodded his head.

"I'll meet you at the hospital, okay."

"Okay, bye." Seth said and then hung up. He then dialed 911 for an ambulance. They sent an ambulance, as well as the police. 

Seth sat down beside Ryan and started talking to him. "Dude, wake up." He was trying hard not to cry. "I should have been with you. I should have been there for you, man." Seth mumbled, looking at Ryan.

The ambulance came and took Ryan to the hospital. Seth rode with him in the back of the ambulance and watched the attendants work on him. Ryan was slowly waking up.

"Dude, there you are." Seth smiled at him.

"What –" Ryan tried to lift his head up, but he was strapped down.

"Son, just stay put." The attendant told him.

"Where's my Mom?" Ryan asked.

"The police came, Ryan. They arrested both her and A.J." Seth told him. "Don't worry…Everything will be okay, I promise." Seth told him.

Ryan let out a tear. "You should have left me there…" Ryan mumbled.

"Hell no." Seth shouted. "You're stuck with me." 

Ryan tried hard not to laugh at his friend. "Well…Back to Juvie I go."

"None of this was your fault. Shit, if only my parents weren't such assholes…" Seth laughed nervously. "What ever happens; happens. I'm with you all the way."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

As soon as Sandy got off the phone with Seth, he called Tom Miller. Sandy and Kirsten then swung by their house and picked up Tom and headed over to the hospital in Chino. When they got to the hospital they spotted Seth sitting in the waiting room.

"Seth!" Kirsten ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Oh honey, are you okay?" She asked, letting go of him.

"I'm not the one that's hurt here." Seth stated. He looked over at Tom Miller and then back at his dad. "Ryan's not going back there…He can't, Dad." He said.

"Seth, we'll leave that up to Child Services." Sandy replied and then asked, "How is he?"

"Oh, you know…Alive and living." Seth muttered, sinking back into his seat. 

"Seth." Kirsten scowled. Sandy and Tom both walked away from Kirsten and Seth and went to the front desk for some more information.

"Mom, why can't he stay with us? It's not like he's going to pee and poop all over the house. I don't have to walk him or feed him…Well technically, you have to feed him. But, that's beside the point, Mom. I just don't get." Seth babbled on. "None of this would have happened if he were living here, with us."

"Seth, you know I can't just bring home a teenager. Life just doesn't work like that."

"Life doesn't work like that, huh?" Seth muttered. "So, I guess it's okay for your Mom to ditch you and let her boyfriends beat on you. Heck, let's just brake a few limbs while were at it and say he fell!" Seth shouted, as he stood up and paced the floor. 

"Seth, what are you talking about?" Kirsten asked.

"Mom, as if you didn't know!" Seth shouted. "Have you not seen his file?"

"Seth, you know I don't have the authority to be looking into Ryan's folder. And that means you too."

"Okay, forget the authority crap." Seth snapped at her and then sat back down in his seat. "He's in the hospital." Seth stated. "He'll be back here in a month or two if we don't stop this."

Kirsten sat down next to Seth. "Seth, he's living with the Miller's now. His mother won't be able to hurt him."

Seth turned to her. "You think he likes it there?" He asked.

Sandy and Tom walked up to them before Kirsten could respond. "Good news." Sandy informed them. "They're just patching up a gash on the back of Ryan's head from the blow and then he can go home."

"Dad, he was unconscious…Isn't that bad?" Seth asked.

"Yes. Which is why someone has to wake him up every few hours." Sandy replied. "Come on, we're allowed to go see him."

Sandy, Kirsten, Seth and Tom walked into the tiny hospital room. The doctor was just finishing the last stitch on the back of Ryan's head. The doctor then put gauze around Ryan's head and explained everything to the three adults. "I've given him some pain medication. So, just make sure he takes it. The stitches should dissolve, as well. Any questions?" The doctor asked.

"No, thank you." Sandy replied, shaking the Doctor's hand.

The doctor smiled at the five of them and then left.

"Dude, let's get you home." Seth said, helping Ryan up. Ryan looked over at Tom, Sandy and Kirsten. Seth knew what he was thinking. "Dad, I was thinking…Maybe Ryan could just stay with us – Just for one night. _Someone_ has to stay up all night and wake him up every hour. And I know you old folks are heavy sleepers."

Tom was the first one to speak. "If that's all right with you guys." He laughed at Seth's humor.

"Yes, that's alright." Kirsten said, smiling at Ryan. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

The car ride home was a quiet one. Everyone was exhausted from the day's events. Seth tried to keep up the flow of conversation in the Rage Rover, but Ryan fell asleep on him. After they dropped Tom Miller off at his house, Seth began his babbling. 

"Mom, Dad…Don't you think the best thing for Ryan right now is for him to stay with us? For good?" Seth said, looking over at Ryan. He was curled up in his seat, with his head against the window.

"Seth, it's not nice to talk about someone when they're in the same vehicle." Sandy replied, keeping his eyes on the road. 

"But – " Seth began.

"Seth." Kirsten warned. "We're almost home, why don't you wake Ryan up."

Seth rolled his eyes at his mom and then shook Ryan's shoulder. "Dude, we're home…Wake up." Ryan shifted in his seat and woke up slowly. "We're almost home."

Ryan nodded his head and then shut his eyes again.

"Dude, wake up." Seth shook him again.

Ryan moaned and brought his hand to the back of his head. "My head hurts." The car stopped in the laneway and Sandy and Kirsten got out. "Where are we?" Ryan asked Seth.

"Home." Seth told him again. 

"Home?" Ryan repeated.

"Well, not yet…But soon my friend. Let me work a little magic of my own and we'll see how it goes from there. But for now, you're stuck with me waking you up every hour or so." Seth got out of the car and Ryan followed him and got out. They both walked into the house.

Kirsten handed Seth a bottle of pills. "He needs to take another one of these in two hours. Make sure he does." She said and then turned to Ryan. "How are you feeling?"

Ryan shrugged. "Never better." Kirsten smiled at him.

"Seth, you have school tomorrow…But, seeming that you'll be staying up all night you don't have to go. So, make sure you stay up with Ryan all night, okay?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah, Dad…I got it covered." He said and then took Ryan into the poolhouse. "So, what happened, Ryan?" Seth asked.

Ryan walked over to the bed and lay down. "I'll tell you later…let me just get some rest." He said, closing his eyes.

Seth sighed. "Okay, I'll just…I'll be over there." Seth pointed to the clutter of cushions on the ground.

Ryan glared at him. "Don't watch me sleep like that."

"What? I'm not watching you sleep."

"Good, 'cause I hate it when people watch me sleep." Ryan replied and then closed his eyes again. He snuggled into the sheets and fell asleep.

"Alrighty then." Seth looked around the pool house, trying to stay awake. He started whistling his favorite tunes, with the name Summer in most of them, and flipping through comic books.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Seth woke up to his watch beeping on him. He had set it for every two hours to wake up Ryan. It was eight in the morning now. "Ryan." Seth shook him.

Ryan tossed and turned in his bed and then slowly opened his eyes. "What?" He glared at Seth.

"Dude, it's eight…You hungry?" Seth asked. "I cook a mean cereal."

Ryan shrugged. "I'm not really that hungry, but sure." He got up and followed Seth inside to the kitchen. Both Sandy and Kirsten were not in the kitchen and Ryan felt more relaxed. He didn't want to cause any trouble for them. He was already causing too much trouble.

Seth and Ryan sat down at the kitchen table and ate their cereal.

"So, Ryan, uh…" Seth munched away on his cereal. "You want to talk? I mean, tell me what happened last night."

Ryan played with the soggy cereal and his bowl and shrugged. "There's not much to talk about, Seth."

"Dude, what happened?" Seth asked again. "Her boyfriend didn't just knock you out for no reason." He stated. "I'm guessing you got what you needed to know, right?"

Ryan nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess so." He held back his tears. He wasn't about to sulk over his mom abandoning him. He was stronger than that. "I screwed up." Ryan mumbled.

"Dude, you didn't screw up. She did. She screwed you over." Seth commented. Ryan closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry…I just don't get it, Ryan. Forget it." Seth grabbed his bowl and took it to the sink. He came back to the table and put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "I won't let them send you away."

Ryan looked up at him and frowned. "Your parents won't be the one's sending me away, Seth. I ran away…I'm going back to Juvie."

Before Seth could say anything Sandy and Kirsten came walking into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling, Ryan?" Sandy asked, giving him a smile.

"Great." Ryan lied. His head was pounding and he felt like he was on a rollercoaster. 

"Seth, we need to talk to Ryan…Alone." Kirsten said. Seth looked over at Ryan and gave him a friendly smile before leaving. Seth wasn't sure what was going on, so he decided to eavesdrop from the den.

Sandy and Kirsten both sat down at the table with Ryan.

"I just got off the phone with Lillian." Sandy explained. "She thinks it's in the best interest for you to live somewhere else and – "

Ryan cut him off. "So, not only does my own Mother not want me but now the Miller's don't want me?" Ryan shook his head at the two of them, trying to control his emotions.

"Ryan, the Miller's like you…It's just that we decided it's not the best place for you." Sandy replied. "And your Mother…"

"Where is she?" Ryan asked.

"Last night both her and A.J. were arrested. She's out. A.J. in for assault." Sandy replied. 

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to think everything over in his head. The Cohen's didn't want him, the Miller's didn't want him and his own Mother didn't want him. He had no one and no where to go. He didn't want to go back to another group home, or worse, back to Juvie.

Kirsten reached over the table and rubbed Ryan's hand. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need some pain medicine for your head?" She asked. Ryan shook his head. A lonely tear escaped down his face and he quickly bushed it away and stood up.

"So, what now? Am I going back to Juvie? I ran away from the Miller's."

"Ryan, you're not going back to Juvie. Yes, you did violate your probation and there will be consequences to face, but you're not going back to Juvie." Sandy explained. Ryan stood in the middle of the kitchen staring at the floor. "Lillian found you another group home. It's not like the Miller's, though. They're more kids at this one…Five or six." Sandy tried to find Ryan's eyes, but Ryan wasn't looking at him. 

Seth then walked into the kitchen and went over to Ryan. "Come on." He grabbed his arm and guided him upstairs to his room.

Once the two boys were gone, Kirsten finally spoke up. "Sandy, do you think he's really okay?"

Sandy shook his head. "I want to believe he is, but I can't."

"And there's no way he can go back to his Mother?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

Sandy shook his head again. "She made it clear the other day that she didn't want him and then this…Well, I doubt Ryan will ever be seeing her again. I wish there were more I could do, Kirsten. I thought I could help him." 

"Last night Seth mentioned something about his file and about his Mom's boyfriend beating on him. Is that true, Sandy?" She asked.

"He does have a lot of hospital records in his file and Child Services did an investigation with his family a few years back, but nothing was done about it." Sandy told her. "He's a kid with a lot of needs." Sandy stated. As much as he wanted to help Ryan and let him stay with his family he knew his wife would never allow it. When he had brought it up earlier she had flipped out on him.

"And what about this new group home?" Kirsten asked.

"It's run by an elderly couple with quite a few kids. They have five or six children, with ages ranging from 6-17. That's all I could get out from what Lillian told me this morning."

"What about his probation?" She asked. "He violated that, didn't he?"

Sandy nodded his head. He wasn't sure why Kirsten was asking so many questions. "He did and they will look into it. 

"Okay." She whispered.

"Okay, what?" Sandy asked.

"I don't want him going to another group home, Sandy. I don't know what you see him in him, but if you think you can help him…Seth really likes him." She laughed nervously. "And I don't want to hurt him, Sandy. I don't want to see him with that look on his face. It kills me…I want him here."

Sandy walked over to his wife and gave her a hug. "Well, there's a no return policy now. You know that."

Kirsten laughed and kissed Sandy on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sandy replied.

"We better go find Ryan and tell him. Seth's going to go crazy."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"You okay, man?" Seth asked Ryan, who was sitting on his bed.

"Sorry." Ryan whispered. "So, I guess it's to another group home…"

"Dude, you're like a brother to me and…Look, I'm sorry I couldn't get my parents to let you stay here."

"Seth." Ryan stopped him. "It's okay. I get it. Who would want me? I mean, I'm nothing but trouble."

"That's so not true." Seth laughed. "You may come from a rough background, but you're so not trouble." He joked, trying to cheer Ryan up. "I'll be right back." He told Ryan. He needed to go talk to his parents about Ryan. He knew Ryan couldn't go back to another group home.

Sandy and Kirsten were just coming down the hallway when Seth opened his door and walked out.

"Mom, Dad…Just the people I was looking for." Seth said.

"Seth, we need to talk." Kirsten said, walking into his room. "Ryan, are you okay? She asked, smiling at him. She brushed his hair away from his face.

"I'm fine." Ryan replied, flinching away from her touch.

"Boys, we have something to tell you." Sandy said.

"Is this another one of your lecture, Dad? 'Cause right now isn't really the time." Seth stated.

"Seth, sit down." Sandy demanded. Ryan scooted over on Seth's bed and Seth sat down next to him.

"Ryan." Kirsten began. "Sandy and I decided that it's best if you live with us right now…Here with the family. That's if you want to."

"Hell yeah." Seth shouted, jumping up from the bed.

"Ryan?" Sandy asked.

Ryan looked back and forth between Sandy and Kirsten. He was in shock. 

"Dude, close your mouth and stop drooling." Seth joked.

"Uh – Yeah." Ryan stumbled on his words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. As much as he wanted to be with his own family, he knew that would never happened. He liked the Cohen's and Seth was like the brother he never had. "That's if you want me."

"Of course, Ryan." Kirsten replied.

"But, what about all that's happened?" Ryan asked.

"As long as you promise to talk to us and not run away from everything, Ryan. We want you in this family." Kirsten replied. 

Seth stood there nodded his head and smiling. "Dude, say yes."

"Okay…Yes." Ryan replied, standing up from the bed. He felt a little lightheaded from his concussion as he stood up in front of the Cohen's.

Kirsten embraced him. "Welcome to the family."

"Thanks." He smiled shyly at her, as she let him go.

"This is awesome." Seth commented. "Come on, let's go play some Playstation." He grabbed Ryan's arm and stated pulling him out of the room.

"Uh, Seth. I think Ryan should maybe get some rest." Sandy said, stopping Seth.

"Right. I forgot. Heat of the moment, I guess." He said and then turned to Ryan. "Maybe after your little nap we'll get to play some Playstation."

"Sounds good." Ryan replied and followed Seth out of the bedroom.

"You know, Kirsten…" Sandy wrapped his arms around her waist. "We just got in way over our heads."

Kirsten kissed Sandy on the lips and smiled at him. "I have a good feeling about all of this."

THE END

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


End file.
